Human
by Haruhi Smith
Summary: An experiment gone wrong–to Mayuri it was a success–leaves our favorite taicho zanpakuto-less. Sent to the human world to start a new life, he finds something...strange. Rated T just in case. Chapter 8 up!
1. And So It Begins

**Requested by ichiruki45! I'm finally starting it π.π I'm SO sorry for putting it off for so long… Hopefully this will be satisfying enough for you guys :D Not sure how long this will end up as, but…yeah. New Bleach episode out tonight! That means it's a good day to publish and go back to my one chapter a week routine thing~ But I don't think this will be published in time for Tuesday, so the day you read this might be Wednesday… *Bows* Once again, sorry .**

**I don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Snow fell on the white landscape of Soul Society, making the already white buildings an even purer white, and covering every inch of space it could find. It was that day that the weather decided to change. It was that winter's day that a certain captain of the twelfth division succeeded in his lab test. And it was that winter's Friday that Hitsugaya Toshiro lost his zanpakuto. Would Hyorinmaru be gone forever? No one knew the answer. Well, nobody except for Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his faithful lieutenant, Nemu.<p>

oOo

Grunting, the white-haired taicho sat up in his futon, the blanket slipping off his slender frame. He raised a small hand to rub the sleep out of his sharp teal eyes, then quickly scanned the room. Something felt…missing. Standing up and messily folding the dark green blanket, he looked around and tried to figure out what was gone from his room. His petite feet made no sound as they padded around on the tatami as he walked around his room, eyes closed in thought. Suddenly, his eyelids few open as he speculated what was absent from his quarters. The chibi captain flew over to the door and slid it open loudly, the wood slamming into wall. He stomped into the yard and over to the neighboring building where his office was, ignoring the snow that fell onto his shoulders and landed on the ground around him, freezing his feet. Now, his only priority was finding the zanpakuto that he routinely laid by his futon every night. His fukutaicho was no doubt sleeping on the couch in the office, waiting for the alcohol from countless cups of sake to finish it's job with her system. Slamming the door to the office open, he yelled. "Matsumoto!"

The strawberry blonde was indeed snoring away on the couch. As her captain neared her 'bed', she turned around in her sleep. "Shuuhei, Kira!" she exclaimed through sleep. "Do you want to go out dri- Kya!" The drowsy shinigami's sleep talk was cut off when her taicho kicked the couch. Hard.

Rubbing her head, which had bumped against the sofa, the busty woman sat up. "Taicho!" she said, glancing at the clock. "It's only four o'clock in the morning; why did you wake me up?"

"Matsumoto," the boy replied, this time in a quieter voice. "Have you seen Hyorinmaru?"

The taller shinigami stood up and stretched slightly. "No, I haven't, taicho," she said, looking down at him. "Why?"

oOo

Even though it was four o'clock in the morning, the first division was as lively as ever, which meant that both the sotaicho and his lieutenant were sitting at their desks, both doing their own paperwork, when a hell butterfly flapped its way through the tall doors of the division's quarters. It landed on the captain-commander's right shoulder **(A/N: Butterfly on Your Right Shoulder reference 8D)**. The voice of the captain of the tenth division, Hitsugaya Toshiro, boomed out from it as it gently fluttered its wings.

"Sotaicho," it began to say. "This is a dire announcement. My zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru has disappeared. There is no sign of a break in at all. That is all…"

Standing up from his chair, the commander of the Gotei 13 turned to his lieutenant, who had also stood up. "Sasakibe," the old man said.

"What is it, taicho?" came the response.

"Send a hell butterfly to inform all of the captains that a captain's meeting will be held now."  
>"Yes, captain."<p>

"…and, also…"  
>"Captain?"<p>

"…organize a group of four shinigami. I want Hitsugaya Toshiro to be arrested immediately."

"T-taicho?"

oOo

Kurotsuchi Mayuri grinned as he made his way over to the first division, passing by the tenth division's office. Looking around to make sure that no one was around, he peeked in through the crack of the closed shoji door. The snowy haired captain was surrounded by four members of the first division as they tied his hands behinds his back with a piece of rope. Two of them held the strong taicho down while another tied the rope's knot. The fourth shinigami quietly stood on the side, calming Matsumoto down while performing a complex reiatsu-weakening kido.

"Wait! What are you doing to my taicho!" the twelfth division's captain could hear Matsumoto's protests from outside the room.

"Shut up, Matsumoto," said the busty shinigami's level-headed captain. It appeared that even at the moment of arrest he was going to remain calm. "This was the sotaicho's decision, so you can't fight back on it."

The lieutenant was silent as the four shinigami led her captain out of their office. Luckily, by the time the five shinigami had left the building, Kurotsuchi had began making his way to the first division once again. There was a sinister and satisfied grin plastered on his painted face. "Success," he muttered as he reached the tall wooden doors and calmly walked inside. Somehow, the four shinigami from the first division had gotten to the meeting room first, and were standing next to the captain-commander, Hitsugaya standing in between them. The other captains were looking at the arrested shinigami in confusion. Taking his place in the room, the scientist's grin widened. _It worked!_

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><p><strong>._. How was it? XD I'm not really sure what I think about it myself~ Hope you guys look forward to the next chapter~ Review if you want to; I won't force you to. See you next week with a new chapter!<strong>

**By the way, did you watch Bakuman 2 episode 5? Talk about a cliffhanger! They're finally catching up with the manga~ And I'm not that satisfied with Bleach right now because it's all about Ichigo again I'm currently caught up with Durarara!, which I watched like 3 times last week~**

**Ja ne!**


	2. It Continues

**Yay! New chapter and Bleach episode! :D Ah, the wonderfulness of posting chapters on Tuesday. I think I might start another fanfiction that will be published on Wednesday, and I'm currently working on the oneshot sequel to 'Teach Me'. Hope you enjoy this chapter! It might be a big short like the last, one, bear with me! .**

**I don't own Bleach**

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><p>The tall wooden doors of the first division closed as the last captain walked through and took their place in his respective place on one side of the room. Curiously, it was Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who was almost always the first one to arrive at the captain meetings. The mad scientist grinned widely as Yamamoto's cane hit the floor with a loud thud, signaling the start of the meeting.<p>

"This is merely an announcement," the captain commander said slowly, his mouth barely moving. "I do not want any information said here to be relayed to anyone but your lieutenants. This morning, Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the tenth division–" The old man paused to steal glance at the teal eyed shinigami. "–apparently has misplaced his zanpakuto."  
><em>I didn't misplace it!<em> Hitsugaya thought angrily. _It was just gone!_ Though he strongly felt like voicing his thoughts, he knew it would be no use, and kept quiet.

"Until Hyorinmaru is found, I will ban Hitsugaya Toshiro from Seireitei. A zanpakuto-less captain is hardly a captain at all. However, I _will_ permit him to go to the Human World with a normal katana."

It took a moment for the information to sink into the captain's minds. Soifon nodded, eyes closed. She didn't care much for her fellow captain, and found it to be a just decision. In fact, the only captains that seemed to care were Ukitake, Kyoraku and, surprisingly, Kurotsuchi. As soon as everyone was dismissed, Ukitake and Kyoraku waited for all of the captains to leave. As soon as the room was empty enough, both captains stepped up to the sotaicho. Ukitake's eyes were filled with unnecessary worry. "Sotaicho," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Are you sure this is the best decision?"

"Be quiet, Ukitake," the old man replied, lifting a snowy white eyebrow to stare into the captain's brown eyes. "What's done is done. I can't risk a shinigami without a zanpakuto to continue being a captain. I will not discuss this further with you. When you get back to your division, send Kuchiki Rukia here immediately. Hitsugaya and I have already agreed that she may assist Matsumoto with the tenth division's work. Is that agreeable with you?" Slowly, the taicho of the twelth divison nodded. "Good. Now, leave."

oOo

Kurotsuchi Mayuri was not a very calm man. He wasn't that great at calming his emotions either. On the way back to his laboratory, he was cursing the whole way. Once he was back in his division, ignoring all of the stares from the other shinigami, he quickly opened his mouth to call his fukutaicho.

"Nemu!" he called. "Nemu, come here now!"

"Hai, Mayuri-sama," came the reply, followed by a flash of wind, and the dark haired woman appeared just behind her 'father'.

"The brat's been banned from Seireitei, but Yamamoto's giving him permission to go to the Real World. Can you track down the whereabouts of _it_? I don't want the kid to run into him while he's there."

The quiet shinigami nodded, and quickly shunpo'd back into the lab, firing up a computer. The screen showed a map of Karakura Town. A few dots moved around.

"Mayuri-sama, this is _it_," the lieutenant said as she pointed to a flashing green dot moving slowly to the right.

Narrowing his eyes, the captain shoved Nemu out of the way so he had a better view of the screen. "Good," he said, then pointed to a green ring around a square that was probably a building. "We have to make sure that it never enters this ring. If it does, we might have some, er, difficulties."

Nemu nodded, and Kurotsuchi strode out of the room. "Let's see how long it takes for _it_ to be found…" He muttered to himself as he disappeared, off to his lab to do who-knows-what.

oOo

Hitsugaya sighed as he stood besides the captain commander of the Gotei 13, wondering if he deserved what he was going to get. The two shinigami were currently waiting for Kuchiki Rukia to arrive. Once she got to the first division, he would leave with her and before he left the Soul Society, would explain what kind of jobs she would have to do and how to handle Matsumoto. Feeling empty without Hyorinmaru strapped across his back (He had indeed been given a standard katana, but the wood of the sheathe just felt, well, different.), the snowy haired boy tried not to show how much resentment he had for the captain commander at the moment. Even if it _was_ for his own good. There was a short knock on the door, and it slowly opened, revealing the violet-eyed and black-haired member of the thirteenth division. "Sotaicho? Hitsugaya…san?" Yamamoto looked sideways at the teal-eyed shinigami. "Go, Hitsugaya," he said gruffly. Even though his actions didn't show it at all, the old man was a little put off at having a captain stripped from his ranking. "We'll see you again once you get your zanpakuto back." Nodding, the short boy quickly rushed out of the room, Rukia right behind him.

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><p><strong>Didn't really have time this week to write a longer chapter D: I'm really sorry this chapter was so short _ I'm actually doubting starting a new story now. This story is definitely top priority.<strong>

**See you next week!**


	3. Arrival

** Back with another chapter~ Sorry if the plot is moving a little too slowly and if the chapters are short. *Bows* Not sure if there really is a need to apologize, since I got like, one review on the last chapter. Anyways, here is chapter 3 of 'Human'!**

**I don't own Bleach :|**

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><p>When Hitsugaya arrived at the office with Rukia just behind him, Matsumoto has pounced on him the second he opened the door, smothering him. "Taicho!" Of course, though, he was used to it.<p>

"Matsumoto," he said, a tick mark appearing on his head. "Let go of me!"

Rukia stood awkwardly on the side, staring at the two.

When Matsumoto finally let go of her 'former' captain, he gasped a breath of air and glared at her. "Mastumoto, we have no time to waste. Explain the basics to Rukia; I will have to take my lead soon. And _don't_ call me 'taicho' anymore."

For a while, the snowy haired boy thought he saw the other shinigami's blue eyes grow teary, but he dismissed it as a reflection of light. As he watched his former lieutenant show the raven haired shinigami around the division, pointing out several of the seated officers of the tenth, he sighed. Of course, he would miss his division: the white walls and smooth wooden floors. But most of all, he would miss his lively fukutaicho. And who knows what could happen in the time he was gone? For all he knew, Hinamori could even wake up from her what seemed to be eternal slumber. As the 'tour' neared an end, Hitsugaya took a last look at what used to be his territory with an unreadable expression on his face. Without bothering to say good-bye to Matsumoto or anybody in his division, he turned around and shunpo-ed out of his office. Five minutes later, he left Soul Society for good. Or was it?

oOo

By the time Hitsugaya got to the Human World, noon had already passed, and a light snow was beginning to fall. It was mid November, so the snow was a little unexpected. Around the short shinigami, people were pulling their coats tighter around themselves and quickening their pace. Not affected by the sudden cold in the slightest, the former captain started truding his way towards the Urahara Shoten, being careful to not leave footprints on the snow-coverd ground. If he was going to be in the real world for a while, he might as well pick up his gigai so that he could fit into the population of Karakura Town with more ease.

Hitsugaya soon reached the front of the store, and slid the shoji door open, greeted by a blast of warm air from the inside.

"Oh, if it isn't Hitsugaya-taicho!" Urahara's voice sounded from somewhere inside the shop. "Come in, come in! Close the door behind you; we don't want to waste our precious warm air."

Quickly brushing the snow off his shoulders, the chibi boy stepped into the building and closed the door, walking to the room where Urahara's voice has seemed to come from. The former captain of the twelth division was seated at a low wooden table on top of the tatami, a cup of green tea in his hands. "May I ask what brings you to this world?"

Lowering his gaze, Hitsugaya sat down across from the older man. Urahara's eyes narrowed underneath his green and white hat as he noticed that the hilt sticking out from behind the other's back wasn't the blue hilt of Hyorinmaru, but the red clothed hilt of a standard shinigami's katana.

Feeling embarassed, the white-haired boy spoke in a low tone. "My zanpakuto has disappeared."

The shop owner raised a pale eyebrow, but didn't press the issue forward. "And I assume you've come here to pick up your gigai?"

Toshiro nodded, and the man stood up and turned around to walk into another room, readjusting his shihakusho, which had slid slightly downwards while he was sitting. "Let's see…" came from outside the room.

A few moments later, Urahara returned, the gigai in hand and gently placed it on the ground next to the other shinigami. Nodding in thanks, he quickly stepped into the body and it sprung to life as it began to brush away the dust on its clothes and tucked away a container of artificial soul pills into a jacket pocket. Looking satisfied, Hitsugaya nodded again and tilted his head up to look at the other man.

"Thanks," he said, starting towards the door. "I'll be leaving now?"

This time, Urahara raised both eyebrows. "Will you be alright?" he asked. "It'll probably get dark soon, since it's winter, and it's snowing and all…" Truth be told, the hat'n'clogs man wasn't all that worried about the young boy's safety. He was thinking more about having another freeloader in the house to taunt and tease.

Shaking his head, Toshiro walked out of the doorway. "I'll find a place to live," he said. "I'll probably be here for quite some time…"

Urahara frowned, but said nothing as the prodigy proceeded to walk out of the hallway leading to the shop and then making his way outside.

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><p><strong>OTL I know this is another really, really short update D: I'm really, really sorry, but I literally had no time this week. I started writing this chapter after I published the last one, but my computer got messed up and I literally had to type up about 10 essays in a span of 6 days…<strong>

**And that concludes this week's update… I actually have Thursday, Friday and half of Wednesday off this week, so I can probably get time to write a decent chapter~**

**See you next time!**


	4. Meetings

**I'm starting this chapter on Thursday, hoping that I'll have enough time to make this longer than the previous chapters, which were somewhat bad. And got one review each. *Is pretty irked about that* Let this chapter begin! I wrote it in my notebook, because I get more motivation for some reason.**

**I don't own Bleach.**

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><p>The first thing that Hitsugaya did was to rent a cheap and rather small apartment in the slightly poorer section of Karakura Town. He didn't want to attract too much attention to himself. Either way, he was fairly used to being a little poor from his time living in Rukongai. The smart boy knew that he would have to find a job, though, as the little money he had left would never be enough to support him for how ever long he would be staying in the Human World. In fact, Hitsugaya already had a plan for the following day: In the morning, he would wake up early and make his way over to Urahara's, to explain his situation further. Hopefully, the storeowner would be able to at least help a little. After that, he would find a job and work for however long he would have to work for. He would have to be sure to find a job that paid immediately, for he would have to buy dinner, a futon and some food to stock in the refrigerator, just in case. Come to think of it, he head no refrigerator, either, not even a water boiler so that he could make tea or instant ramen. Sighing, Hitsugaya added the items to a list in a blue notebook that had been in his pocket, along with a small ballpoint pen. The subtle blue of the hard cover had reminded him of his lost dragon, and he put down the pen and sighed again. <em>Where are you, Hyorinmaru?<em>

oOo

Sunlight shone through the small window in the room, landing right on the boy's closed eyelids. Graning, he rolled over and opened his teal eyes. Sitting up, he ran a petite hand through white locks of hair. Glancing at the small watch on his wrist, he realized that it was seven 'o clock in the morning, which was rather late. While a captain in the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya had always stayed up late and woke up early to complete paperwork, sometimes not getting any sleep at all. Now, living in the Human World, he felt like he was growing lazy. Other than his job in an art supply shop, he had nothing else to do while not wandering the streets or buying necessities in small and cheap shops. Three days had passed already, and there had been no sign of his zanpakuto, either. A few hollows had appeared, but it didn't matter, as they were all taken care of by the substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. Another good thing: the white-haired boy hadn't run into Ichigo or any of his friends yet. True, they had all seemed to be nice people, which was a good thing, but Hitsugaya didn't want people to be wasting their time looking for something that might not even be in this world. Heck, he didn't even know if his icy sword even existed anymore. But the former captain of the tenth was in no circumstances ready to give up. He would do anything to get his precious 'soul slayer' back. The chibi brushed his teeth and changed clothes to get ready for work. The store, which was called 'Niji', opened at 9 in the morning, and emplyees usually arrived at eight-thirty to clean up and make sure that all of the items were in place and in stock. Hitsugaya was no exception.

oOo

Yawning and stretching as he stepped out of the apartment, the boy straightened the straps of his backpack as he started on his way to work. The sun was still shining rather brightly despite the cold winter air. Hitsugaya squinted as he stepped onto the street, the sun shining right in his eyes. It seemed that even in the World of the Living, the sun was still determined to bother him to no end. Things got better once he reached the cool shade of Niji. The skinny shinigami pulled out the key to the store and unlocked the door to step into the building, locking it back behind him and marching to the back of the store.

"Oh, Hitsugaya-kun!" The storeowner, Sanae-san, had already arrived, though it seemed as though the other two employees had yet to come.

"H-hi," Hitsugaya stammered as he but his bag in a shelf and tied a green worker's apron around his waist. He wasn't a very social person.

The other workers soon stepped through the door, and after a while, it was time to start another busy day at Niji.

oOo

"Yo, Toshiro!" A familiar voice sounded through the open door of the shop, and the mentioned boy sighed. His work at the store was actually quite tiring, and all he wanted to do was go home. But after the substitue shinigami of Karakura Town had spotted him, he knew that it was going to be a long night.

"What do you want, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya's shift ha just ended, and he was walking towards the front of the store to leave.

"Why are you in this world?" Ichigo lowered his voice and bent down, speaking directly into Hitsugaya's right ear.

"That has nothing to do with you," came the quick response. This set Ichigo off.

"You little–" The strawberry had his mouth wide open, ready to yell at the shorter male, but cut off his voice when he noticed that Toshiro's eyes were wide open in shock, the irises of his eyes dilating at a rapid rate. He was staring at something across the street. Following the boy's cerulean gaze, Ichigo widened his chocolate orbs. "Toshiro, what the hell is going on?"

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><p><strong>I guess this chapter was still relatively short. *sighs* But I feel more proud of it because it was 4 A5 pages long, and I still felt like I could write more. This time, I PROMISE that the next chapter will definitely be longer. I'll start on it earlier than this time (probably tomorrow), and so it will probably be a lot better~<strong>

**See you next time!**


	5. Meeting Him

**Here is the new chapter of Human, delayed for about 3 weeks because I was literally too busy to write. *Shameful* But imagine writing 3 essays a day on top of homework and sleeping past 1 o'clock in the morning every day. That was my life for the past few weeks. Anyways, enjoy! (Lemme get one thing straight: This is after The Diamond Dust Rebellion.)**

**I don't own Bleach.**

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><p><em>Following the boy's cerulean gaze, Ichigo widened his chocolate orbs. "Toshiro, what the hell is going on?"<em>

For a while, the two boys just stood outside the store, eyes glued to the person on the street across from them. It was the smaller male who moved first. As quick as possible, Toshiro flung himself over the metal divider that separated the paved pedestrian pathway from the busy vehicles on the road in front of them. Weaving in and out of the moving cars, Hitsugaya hurried to get to the other side. Ichigo, who was still frozen in shock, watched as the lithe boy raced through gaps in between the ways of transportation. Unfortunately, at one point, a speeding motorcycle had to stop hastily to avoid slamming into him. Stretching out a hand, the rider punched Hitsugaya in the face, sending him flying backwards into the air. Ichigo gasped and was about to launch himself onto the road, bending his knees in preparation. But the white-haired one wasn't going to back down, no matter how much pain he was in. Standing right back up and spitting out some drops of blood, Toshiro dashed a couple more steps forward, finally reaching the other side. He wasn't panting, and not a single drop of sweat could be visible on his face. Standing up straight, the short male's teal gaze bore right into the eyes of the figure in front of him.

"Hyorinmaru, what are you doing?"

The man was certainly his icy zanpakuto, but in human form. "Child," he stated in a soft, deep voice. "Is there anything you want from me?"

Hitsugaya stepped back, eyes once again widening in shock, as he remained gazing at the taller person. "W-what?" he muttered softly. Panicking, the boy grabbed the collar of Hyorinmaru's dress shirt, almost ripping it out from underneath the man's black jacket. "Hyorinmaru, do you remember me? I am your master, Hitsugaya Toshiro! Answer me, Hyo–"

The boy's words were cut off when his fingers were pried off of the stiff fabric, and he was pulled backwards by a strong hand.

"Toshiro…"

Apparently, Ichigo had reached the other side of the road as well.

"Let go of me, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya stated in a dangerous tone.

"No. I don't know what's going on, but I'm not going to let you go until you calm down."

"Let me go! He's getting away!"

Indeed, the now changed zanpakuto spirit had turned around and was walking away calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Ichigo watched as the figure of Hyorinmaru turned into an alleyway, then looked down at the body he was holding. "Let's go over to Urahara-san's shop…"

oOo

"I never thought you'd see him this quickly," Urahara remarked as he set cups of steaming tea onto the low wooden table. Sitting down across from Ichigo, the shop owner eyed the two other shinigami carefully. "Are you sure the person you saw was Hyorinmaru?"

Hitsugaya slammed his hand onto the table, knocking over two cups of tea. The piping hot green liquid poured onto the light colored oak, turning it into a dark brown. "Are you suggesting that I don't even know what my own zanpakuto look like? I saw him with my own eyes! I-"

The boy was cut off as Urahara threw several pieces of sweet beans into his wide-open mouth. After chewing and swallowing rapidly, the snowy chibi growled in anger.

"What did you do that for?"

"Calm down, Hitsugaya-san," Urahara said. "I didn't mean that I don't trust your eyes; it's just that I found it strange that you managed to find him so quickly."

Even though the words weren't directed to him, Ichigo couldn't help but get irritated at the man's playful tone.

"…"

The strawberry straightened up. "Ah! Now that I think of it, I picked this up." He placed a small white card onto the table. "I'm pretty sure that, uh, Hyorinmaru-san dropped it…"

In a flash, Hitsugaya grabbed the card and read it in silent shock, his petite figure shaking ever so slightly. Urahara peeped over the boy's shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

_Sojiro Kusaka_

_Senior Head of Insurance_

_Your problems are our problems too!_

_Call 080-2455-####_

"Toshiro…Kusaka…isn't he that guy who stole the king's treasure a while back?"

A nod.

"And didn't you, well, kill him?"

Hitsugaya lowered his gaze. True, he almost gotten over his old friend, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness whenever someone mentioned him. "Yeah…" the icy boy replied.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the storeowner spoke up.

"Well, Hitsugaya-san. I can tell that you've had a long day. Go home now, and get some rest. I'll look into this. Kurosaki-san, do you mind going with him?"

"Why?" the strawberry asked. "I have school tomorrow, you know! I still have to go home and do homework and stuff!"

"Kurosaki-san." Urahara lowered his voice to an almost whisper. "I suggest that you at least accompany Hitsugaya-san to where he is currently living. Look at his eyes."

Ichigo broke his gaze from the shadow underneath the man's green and white hat to stare at the white haired boy, noting the lost look in the teal orbs that were looking down at the table.

"Alright," he said at last, standing up and dashing to catch up to Toshiro, who was already asking his way outside.

"What are you doing, Kurosaki?" Hearing the loud footsteps, the boy had turned around.

Ichigo tried to look normal. "I'm gonna walk with you! Friends stick together, right? And I want to see where you live."

"…Friends don't have to stay with each other 24/7," Hitsugaya remarked.

The strawberry stood for a while, not saying anything. He couldn't think of a response.

"Whatever." It was the snowy boy who spoke. "Do what you want."

The two males had reached the white apartment building, and were about to ender through the front door, when an angry looking woman appeared. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun. Orange glasses perched on her nose, which lay underneath glittering coffee-brown eyes.

"Are you this boy's guardian?" she asked in a demanding tone to Ichigo, who was standing with his mouth wide open.

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><p><strong>Yup. A little bit of suspense. Hope to see you in the next chapter, which I will (hopefully) publish soon!<strong>

**Please review! Reviews motivate me, and recently I've been getting about one review for every single chapter, which is also probably why I'm loosing interest in this story o**


	6. Complication

**I'm **_**really**_** loosing motivation for this fanfiction. Reviews are my fuel, and I'm really low on it. I know it's probably because of my crappy writing but trust me, guys, I'm really trying… Anyways, because of this and other things in life, I've been writing really, really slowly.**

**Enjoy! I don't own Bleach, and sorry if Hitsugaya is a little ooc~**

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><p>"<em>Are you this boy's guardian?" she asked in a demanding tone to Ichigo, who was standing with his mouth wide open.<em>

Ichigo backed up a few steps. "W-what?" he spluttered eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

"I _knew_ something was suspicious about an elementary schooler rending out one of my apartments!"

A tic mark appeared on Hitsugaya's head, but he managed to keep his cool. _I knew the landlady would start nagging sooner or later,_ he thought bitterly. _Damn my height! But how did she assume that Kurosaki is my guardian? We don't look alike at all! …Or do we?_

Ichigo was still in a daze as the woman continued to speak. "So, are you here to take him back home?" The landlady paused to glance at the shorter boy. "He does seem like a rebellious child."  
>"Eh? It's not like that…" Ichigo started.<p>

The woman was beginning to push the strawberry towards the building. "Well, then if you're not here to pick him up, then I guess you're here to live with him! Go on ahead, make yourself comfortable; I'll bring dinner for you two later, my treat!"

Having no choice, Ichigo followed Hitsugaya into the apartment building, muttering incoherently all the way.

Once inside, Ichigo's complaints became louder, and he kept on whining as he leaned on the kitchen counter as Hitsugaya calmly made tea. "That old hag…" the substitute shinigami said disdainfully. "Guardian? We don't look anything alike, and I'm pretty sure I'm still a minor… Maybe it's my height –"

"Shut up, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya growled, sounding slightly irritated. Apparently he was still touchy about the subject of height. "Let her think what she wants to think; the important thing is that we know it's not true. I'm not an elementary schooler, and you're not my guardian."

Slowly, Ichigo relaxed, but just slightly, and followed the white-haired boy to the small, Japanese-style living room. They sat down across from each other.

"Now, Kurosaki, we have two options. One is the most unfavorable option; which is going with the landlady's 'belief'. That would mean that you would have to, well, live here and act as my guardian until I'm ready to go back to Soul Society. Or I could abandon this place and go live in your place, which wouldn't be ideal because of your crazy family. And the second is for us to persuade the landlady that I'm _not_ an elementary schooler. That will take some thinking, but I think it's better than the two of us living together. What do you thing?"  
>Ichigo took in the facts slowly, and yawned loudly all throughout the explanation. "I think either of those would work, but it's late now. Can I think about it tomorrow?" he asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was nine o'clock, which was a little early for the strawberry, but he figured that his homework would take him at least three hours. "And Toshiro?"<br>"What?"

"Can I stay here tonight?"  
>"…Yeah."<p>

Ichigo ended up taking a whopping five hours to finish up his homework, because a certain former captain kept on looking over his shoulder. After 300 long minutes of "You're an idiot, Kurosaki" and "Do you understand this now?", the high schooler had finally completed his assignments, and was sipping up the last of his tea.

"Geez, Toshiro," the strawberry said, looking over at his 'tutor'. "I think I learned more stuff in the past few hours that I've ever learned in my life! Why do you care about my grades, anyways?"

The short boy shrugged. "There's nothing better to do right now; but since you're finished, I suggest you go take a shower. It's two o'clock in the morning, andi don't know about you, but I actually want to get some sleep. I didn't come to the World of the Living to give myself even more stress."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ichigo replied, standing up after putting his school things away. "By the way, Toshiro?"

"What is it now?" the prodigy was speaking in an exasperated tone.

"Do you have another futon?"  
>"…No…"<p>

"Crap."

oOo

Sunlight shone through the small window once more, except this time, it landed on two pairs of closed eyes. Toshiro, being the more alert one, sat up and quickly checked the time: six o'clock in the morning. From the boy's past experience in Karakura High, he knew that school started at around seven thirty, and walking from his apartment to the high school would take roughly twenty minutes. Not feeling like waking the strawberry up just yet, Hitsugaya quickly splashed cold water on his face in the kitchen sink, and proceeded to make breakfast. Knowing that Ichigo's sister always made filling meals for the family, Hitsugaya tried his best to make a breakfast that would sustain the teen until lunch, then realized that Ichigo would need a bento as well. The boy walked back into the room where they had slept, picking up the light blue lunchbox and deciding to wake the high schooler up so that he could get ready for school.

"Kurosaki," Toshiro muttered softly, shaking the shoulder of the sleeping form. "Wake up; it's six forty."

After a few moments, orange hair poked out of the small blanket, followed by half closed chocolate brown eyes. Suddenly, Ichigo sat straight up, the blanked falling off his lithe form. "Are you serious? I was planning to go back to my place first; I didn't contact my dad or sisters, and I need to get lunch!"

"Calm down, Kurosaki. I'm sure Urahara already contacted your father with some kind of excuse, and I was just about to make lunch. Now get up and prepare for school."

"…you're just like my dad or something," Ichigo muttered as Hitsugaya left the room.

oOo

Needless to say, the morning went by smoothly, and Ichigo left the apartment with no doubts, Hitsugaya leaving ten minutes afterwards. Once he got to Niji, he nodded a greeting to Sanae-san and headed to the back room. But once he set foot in the room, three employees turned to mutter to each other darkly. As soon as Toshiro tied his uniform apron around his waist, one of them turned to him.

"Hey, kid! Why aren't you at school?"  
>Hitsugaya backed up, speechless. "I…"<p>

"Elementary school is mandatory, brat," another man sneered.

"Do you want us to report you to the authorities?" another taunted.

The three employees had the boy backed up against the wall, and the one who had spoken first was drawing their fist back, ready to punch Toshiro in the face.

"What are you doing to that child?" A voice sounded from behind the people, and the employee's wrist was grabbed tightly, his arm twisted behind his back.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, and he backed up further in to the wall when he saw his savior, for it was no other than his icy zanpakuto in human form.

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><p><strong>Yes, I'm not dead. I suddenly had a fanfic rush today and then finished this chapter in no time! Hope you liked it, and look out for the next chapter!<strong>


	7. Dreams

**Setting deadlines for myself now~ I think it makes things a lot easier. Hopefully I'll get this chapter done by Friday. (Tomorrow) Listening to epic Bleach OSTs to get motivation.**

**I don't own Bleach! The only thing I own here is the story plot, Sanae-san and those three bastard employees ;w;**

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><p>'Hyorinmaru' stepped forward as the three employees ran away, and looked at Toshiro with a look of concern. "Child, are you okay?"<p>

"I-I'm fine," the boy replied, gently brushing away the hand that was offered to him. "I'm used to this kind of stuff."

"Oh?" The man was curious, but he could tell that Hitsugaya didn't want to press the matter forward. Instead, he walked out of the back room, and back into the store. "I'm a friend of Sanae, by the way," he explained. "I usually stop by here once in a while."

Following him, Hitsugaya peered around a shelf and saw the storeowner chasing the three employees out of the store, their green aprons left behind on the floor. Walking up to her, the boy bowed. "I'm so sorry," he said. "Because of me, you've lost three employees…"

The woman rapidly shook her head, giving Toshiro a small smile. "No, it's of no inconvenience to me. They were bad workers anyways, always slacking off and never doing their jobs properly. I'm content with just the two of us working for now."

Hitsugaya grinned back at his employer. "I'm glad," he said, walking over to straighten up a stack of papers on a shelf.

"Sanae, who is this kid?" Hyorinmaru whispered to the female, pulling her behind a different shelf so that his voice would be muffled.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-kun? He's such a sweet child. He came in the other day asking for a job, and I couldn't resist," Sanae replied, touching a hand to her cheek. "He works well, and doesn't ask for extra pay, unlike those other three employees. As for the fact that he's only fourteen years old, well, I can see that he's in need of a job. He's such a poor child, I can't possibly call the authorities!"

"Alright, calm down, calm down," the man said, putting his hands up. "Well, I have to get to work now," he said, heading towards the glass door. "I might stop by in the evening, have a nice day!"

"You too!" Sanae said cheerfully, waving as she swept the gray floor of her shop with the broom in her hands, looking over at her new worker with a kind smile.

oOo

Later that day, when the majority of civilians were either in school or at work and business was quite slow, Hitsugaya decided to approach his employer.

"Er, Sanae-san?"

"What is it, Toshiro-kun?"

"Where did you meet, um, Sojiro-san? Was it recently?"  
>"Oh, yes, quite recently, actually." The storeowner put her index finger to her chin. "He was moved here by his company, which needed someone experienced to work in this area. Why do you ask?"<p>

Toshiro shook his head quickly. "No reason," the boy said smoothly. "I bumped into him the other day and was just wondering."

Sanae nodded knowingly. "Well, I can't blame you for being curious," she said. "Do you have any more questions?"

The boy shook his head once again.

"Good. Well, since there aren't many customers now, you're free to go on your lunch break. I'll see you in half an hour!" The kind woman waved as Hitsugaya bowed his thanks and went back to the employee room to take his apron off and leave through the back door.

oOo

Meanwhile, Sojiro was having troubles with his work. As he sat at the desk in his large office, looking through the files of his clients, his mind couldn't help but think back to the lithe white-haired boy from the morning."That child…" he muttered quietly to himself. "Seemed…familiar. I wonder what…"

Suddenly, the image of the boy in his mind flashed white, and it was replaced with a scene laced with soft white snow, the white substance falling in slow drops of icy crystal. The man heard a large breath, and realized that it had come from himself. Looking down, he saw that his human body was gone, replaced by that of an icy dragon.

_Where…_

"Hyorinmaru!" a voice rang in the distance. Somehow, Sojiro wasn't surprised to see that it was Hitsugaya Toshiro, the boy that he had run into three times now.

Opening his large mouth, the dragon was about to speak, but then realized that he couldn't; for when he stretched open the large, icy-blue jaws and attempted a mere roar, no sound came out.

The white-haired boy was nearing, and it seemed as though he could not see the dragon that loomed in the distance. His teal gaze swept back and forth, and when his eyes passed over the form of the dragon, he looked into space as if nothing was there. "Hyorinmaru!" he screamed again, his voice already sounding strained from having to yell over the harsh winter wind.

Abruptly, the image shattered apart, and Sojiro straightened up at his desk. Looking around strangely to see if anyone had seen him in his 'hallucination', the man shrugged, and went back to work, though he had a sense that something was about to go wrong…

oOo

A small burger restaurant was not the best place to sit and have a strange dream. Hitsugaya found this out the hard way, for he was violently awaken by a punch to the face. When he opened the teal orbs he had for eyes, he wasn't startled by the fact that what had woken him from his slumber was the three former employees who had been fired just hours ago.

"What do you guys want?" the 'teen' asked, stretching as if nothing had happened.

"You have to pay, punk. It's because of you that we lost our jobs!"

"It's not my fault that you guys have to act so rashly. Or the fact that Sanae-san finds you three to be disrupters to the peace in her shop."

"What did you say, brat?" The ringleader of the group said, beckoning his comrades forwards so that they completely surrounded the boy in the booth.

"I'm pretty sure you're not deaf."

"Why you little– Ah, whatever. Let's get him, guys!" As soon as the unemployed teen finished his exclamation, almost everyone else in the restaurant turned to face him, and they all grinned.

Hitsugaya frowned and backed up against the window, realizing that all of the thugs surrounding him had the exact same tattoo on their right forearms, and were probably from the same gang.

_Damn…_

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><p><strong>Ah, Hitsugaya-taicho is in trouble! o Who knows what will happen next :3<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed it~! See you next time~**


	8. Finale

**I suck. So much. /sobs in a corner**

**Anyways, I'm back~**

**I don't own Bleach!**

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><p>Needless to say, Hitsugaya fended off the gang members quite easily. After all, he <em>had<em> been a captain of the Gotei 13. The boy was slightly grateful for the fight, having had little exercise over the past few days. Once he had finished beating up everyone in the restaurant, he raced off towards his apartment. Arriving at the building, he was shocked to find…

"Why are you here?" Hitsugaya inquired, eyes narrowed.

"I made acquaintance with the landlady here a while back…" The splitting image of Hyorinmaru stared back.

"You sure have a lot of 'friends'…" the former captain muttered. "Shouldn't you go back to wherever you live or work now?"

"Actually, I'm not here to talk to the landlady."

_Does he…remember?_ "Then what are you here for?"

"I'd like to have a word with you."

oOo

Normally, the previous caption of the tenth division would have felt very calm while conversing with his zanpakuto. However, he felt strangely uncomfortable in the presence of 'Kusaka Sojiro', even though the man was, without a doubt, his icy sword. The two were sitting at the low table in Hitsugaya's apartment, steaming cups of tea placed before each.

"Child…"

"Don't call me a child!" The chibi snapped.

"My apologies, erm…"

"Hitsugaya Toshiro."

"Then, Toshiro-kun?"

The boy almost berated the person in front of him, when he remembered that formalities such as 'Hitsugaya-taicho' were no longer needed. "Just say it already."

"…who are you?"

Hitsugaya was taken aback, but he quickly switched to a solemn, businesslike face. "I'm not a grade schooler, if that's what you're thinking."

"That's not what I mean. Where did you come from? Why are you here in Karakura?"

Hitsugaya bit back an _I could ask you the same thing_ and stared back with an equal level of seriousness. "Why do you care?"

"I've been having…dreams," the man confessed. He'd fallen asleep and stared into space several more times at work, his colleagues forcing him to take the rest of the day off. "Dreams and visions, actually."  
>"What does that have to do with me?"<p>

"Because you were in my dreams." **(A/N: This sounds…weird ¬.¬)**

"…may I ask what those dreams were about?"

"I was plane of snow and ice, surrounded by howling wind. Strangely enough, I was not a human, but a large dragon formed of ice. And then there was you, calling out...some kind of name?"

"And what was that name?"

"If I remember correctly, it was something along the lines of 'Hyorinmaru'. Does that mean anything to you?"

"…"

"What is it…child?"

The world 'child' immediately caught Hitsugaya's attention, and he swallowed a bitter remark. "Kusaka…san… Do you promise to never tell this to anyone?"

"I will never speak anything of this conversation."

"I…I'm not human. I'm a…. shinigami, and I'm here because, well, you disappeared."

"I disappeared?"

The white haired boy nodded. "You were my, um, weapon, and one night, you just suddenly disappeared. I was banished by my superior."

"And that's why you came to the human realm?" Bit by bit, the former zanpakuto was remembering what he had previously been.

Another nod.

A silence settled over the room, though it wasn't the uncomfortable type of silence.

"So…what are you going to do know?" Hyorinmaru spoke slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't just come here because your superior banished you, right? You also wanted to find me, correct?"

"…yes."

"So what are you going to do now? Stay here? Or go back?"

Hitsugaya sighed. "I'd like to return as soon as possible, but since it doesn't seem like you've recovered all your memories yet, we should wait a while before returning."

The man nodded, then quickly stood up. "I've used quite a bit of your time, and I apologize," he said. "I shall leave now, but I'll find you if anything else happens."

Hitsugaya stood up as well. "Thanks," he replied, a small smile on his face as he lead his guest to the front door.

Hyorinmaru bowed. "It's my pleasure," he said, turn away to leave.

oOo

Hitsugaya's eyes flew open when he heard a crashing sound from outside. Flinging the sheets off of him, he raced out of the building and onto the streets. His eyes widened as he saw a giant group of hollows, standing dumbly in the sky. Without even thinking, the boy started running, until he reached a house, and leapt up onto the windowsill of a room on the second floor.

"Kurosaki! Kurosaki!" the boy pounded on the window, hoping to wake the snoring strawberry up.

The window was almost immediately flung open. "Hollows–" A tired-looking, shihakusho-clad Ichigo emerged, turning his head to stare at the male in front of him. "Toshiro!"

"Go, Kurosaki," the former captain quickly said. "I can't do anything now; I don't have a gikongan on me right now."

Ichigo nodded, and rushed off into the night.

Hitsugaya watched him leave, and quickly rushed off in a different direction.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-san! I didn't expect to see you at this time of the night…" A yawning Urahara-san greeted the young boy.

"This is urgent; I need a gikongan right now! There are multiple hollows attacking as we speak–"

The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed. "Hitsugaya-san, normally I'd be happy to supply you with a soul pill, but exactly how do you plan to fight without your zanpkuto?"

The boy gritted his teeth. "I still have kido! Maybe I can–"

"Don't rush things. I'm sure Kurosaki-san will handle it just fine."

"But I need to go fight! I have to!"

"He's right."

Hitsugaya turned around, his eyes widening. "Hyo…Hyorinmaru…"

The taller man knelt down, bowing his head. "I'm here for you, master."

oOo

"Damn!" Ichigo screamed, swing his sword around once more. Killing the hollows wasn't that hard, but there were so many of them; the strawberry was overwhelmed.

"Need some help?"

The orange-haired male turned around, eyes widening. "Toshiro! Is that–"

Hitsugaya drew out his zanpakuto, the sheath on his back disappearing. "Yeah," he said. "Hyorinmaru remembered everything."

The hollows lunged for the pair of shinigami, but the captain was too fast. "Sōten ni zase, Hyorinmaru!"

––The End––

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><p><strong>What? You thought I was going to continue this fanfiction forever? *smacks self*<strong>

**Don't worry just yet! I'll get an omake up as soon as I can. I'd like to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed this fic!**

**~Haruhi Smith**


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